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The Pakistan International Film Festival kicks off today.

The four-day festival will screen 210 films that have been submitted by around 93 countries across the globe. This includes documentaries, short films and feature-length films.

At the opening press conference for the event, ‘The Spirit of Kolachi’ – a handcrafted trophy designed by renowned sculpture and painter Mr Abdul Jabbar Gull was unveiled.

It was reiterated that PIFF 2018 is hosting filmmakers from different countries including India, Germany, Italy and many more. Panels have included speakers such as Sultana Siddiqui, Asim Raza and Sajal Aly as well as international speakers like writer Nandita Das, filmmaker Vishal Bhardwaj and Hindi Medium director Saket Chawdhari.

Says filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid, "I'm particularly excited about PIFF because I think it's going to be a fantastic platform for young filmmakers to showcase their work and for audiences to see films that they don't normally get the opportunity to see."

Nueplex CEO Jamil Baig also feels that the emergence of new people will benefit our industry: "You'll get to see new talent on the PIFF platform. Through the introduction of new directors, new producers and artists in our industry, we will produce even better work." -

Eight films are being premiered, including Cake, Shabana Azmi's The Wishing Tree and Zaraab, the first Balochi language film to ever be premiered. The films will be premiered at Nueplex cinemas.

Apart from the eight premieres, the short films, documentaries and other feature films will be screened at various locations such as Goethe Institut, Alliance Francaise and T2F.

Check out the complete list of panels, speakers and films here.